Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Earn NCAA Baseball Postseason Berths
Irving, Texas - Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas have earned bids to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship field with the Cowboys and Frogs serving as regional host sites for the second year in a row.
TCU was tabbed a top eight national seed (No. 7). The Frogs are just one of three teams to earn back-to-back national seeds. This marks the fifth time a Big 12 team has earned a national seed in consecutive years (Nebraska, 2005-06; Texas, 2006-07; Texas, 2009-10; and Texas 2010-11).
Regional play begins on Friday, May 29, and runs through Monday, June 1 (if necessary).
The Big 12 advanced three teams to Omaha a year ago with 80 percent of its 2014 NCAA postseason teams moving on to Super Regional action as four teams served as Super Regional hosts. The Conference was represented in the CWS with one-third of its baseball-playing institutions as 60 percent of its NCAA tournament teams advanced to Omaha (3-of-5) - TCU, Texas and Texas Tech.
Big 12 teams went 23-13 in NCAA postseason play last season. The league was 6-3 in Super Regional action – matching the most wins since the 2005 campaign (6-2). Last year's .765 (13-4) winning percentage in regional contests was the second-best mark all-time for the league, which went 8-2 (.800) in the opening round in 2013.
Overall, the Big 12 has totaled 98 NCAA appearances and is 198-142 in Regional games, including an 31-12 mark over the last three years. The Big 12 has sent multiple teams to Super Regional action in 13 years, including each of the past five seasons. Additionally, the league has had 18 teams advance to the College World Series.
Big 12 regular season champion TCU (43-11, 18-5) will host NC State, Sacred Heart and Stony Brook in Fort Worth this weekend. The Frogs are hosting their fifth regional and are making their 11th NCAA postseason appearance in the past 12 years. TCU opens against Sacred Heart on Friday at 6 p.m. CT with NC State taking on Stony Brook at 1:30. TCU is 27-2 at home this year and leads the Big 12 in batting average, ERA and fielding percentage. The Frogs are also second in the nation in ERA.
Oklahoma State (37-18, 14-8) will serve as the host site for this weekend's Stillwater Regional, the 12th time the Cowboys have been selected as a regional host. The Cowboys earn their 41st postseason berth and will meet St. John's (NY) at 6 p.m. CT. Arkansas and Oral Roberts will also head to Stillwater for the weekend and face off at 1:30 on Friday. The Cowboys are led by third-year head coach Josh Holliday and rank second in the conference in ERA. OSU is coming off its second-straight Big 12 Championship postseason title game appearance.
Texas (30-25, 11-13) earned the league's automatic bid to the postseason with a dominant showing at the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship where the Longhorns went 4-0 with three complete games from their starting pitchers. UT will travel north to Dallas to play in the Dallas Baptist Regional, opening against Oregon State on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT. The host Patriots and VCU complete the four-team regional.
Each of the 16 regionals features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, May 29, to Monday, June 1 (if necessary). Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.NCAA.com/cws, Monday, June 1, at approximately 10 p.m. CT. The 69th Men's College World Series begins play Saturday, June 13, at the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
Friday, May 29 (Times CT)
Dallas Regional hosted by Dallas Baptist - plays winner of Miami (FL) Regional (Columbia, East Carolina, FIU, Miami)
#1 Dallas Baptist (43-13) vs. #4 VCU (37-22), 6 p.m., ESPN3/WatchESPN
#2 Oregon St. (38-16-1) vs. #3 Texas (30-25), 1:30 p.m., ESPN3/WatchESPN
Fort Worth Regional hosted by TCU- plays winner of College Station Regional (California, Coastal Carolina, Texas A&M, Texas Southern)
#1 TCU (43-11) vs. #4 Sacred Heart (23-30-1), 6 p.m., ESPN3/WatchESPN
#2 North Carolina St. (34-21) vs. #3 Stony Brook (34-14-1), 1:30 p.m., ESPN3/WatchESPN
Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State - plays winner of Springfield Regional (Canisius, Iowa, Missouri State, Oregon)
#1 Oklahoma St. (37-18) vs. #4 St. John's (NY) (39-14), 6 p.m., ESPN3/WatchESPN
#2 Arkansas (35-22) vs. #3 Oral Roberts (41-14), Noon, SECN/ESPN3
